


Runes Abundant

by Ruenis



Category: Rune Factory (Video Games), Rune Factory 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 21:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5842195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruenis/pseuds/Ruenis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate universe! fic featuring what might have happened if Lest and Frey were siblings and Lady Ventuswill only had enough power to bring one of them (plus Leon) out of the tower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Runes Abundant

_Summer 12 - Afternoon_

“Woo! Go, Lest!”

“Congratulations, Lest!”

“Hey, congrats, man! Didn’t expect you to beat her!”

_Pant, pant.._

“Good job, prince! That bout was phenomenal!”

“A swell job done!”

“Congratulations! I couldn’t have done it better myself!”

_Pant, pant.._

Slowly straightening himself, the platinum blond youth cannot help but rest his weight against the elegant, blue long sword he had used in his fight. It is a self-crafted Snow Crown, and its blue and silver blade is imbued with water magick. “That was.. a good fight.. Frey..” he tells his opponent, an older girl, between shallow breaths. A tired, clumsy smile rises to his lips, and his light violet eyes fix to mint coloured ones.

Frey, seemingly the older girl’s name, is an even worse off condition than the boy, Lest, is. Her lightly tanned skin is shiny with sweat, and her twin tails are messy and are almost falling out of her butterfly clips. She has a short sword with a red blade in her left hand- a Sakura with poison on its edge- and a platinum shield in her right. She glares lightly at the younger male, and slides her sword into the sheathe at her belt and her shield into one of the free loops. Turning on her heels, the girl walks away from the square and down the mini stairwell that leads to Melody Street.

“Frey?” someone calls, a girl by the sound of it.

“Lest, what’s wrong?” another asks, a male this time.

The youth takes a slow, clumsy step forward, long sword falling to the ground with a loud clatter as it meets stone. His light violet orbs narrow just a bit as his vision starts to fade to black. He is not conscious long enough to feel it when he meets the stone pavement.

* * *

_Summer 12 - Evening_

“Lest?”

Black shifts to white and back before it finally remains a blurred mixture of golden blond and pink. “Arthur..?” Lest sits up slowly, carefully, blurry vision easily able to decipher the person in front of him, but not anything else, “Where am I..?”

“You’re in my office. You fainted,” the older blond says, gently waving a hand in front of the acting prince’s face, an attempt to get his vision to focus, “How are you feeling?”

The youth’s vision slowly comes into focus as he narrows his eyes just a bit. A moment later he lifts his head, violet fixing to warm, honey pink, and he smiles, “I’m fine, Art.”

Arthur’s features turn slightly distressed; he frowns a bit at the youth, shaking his head. “How can you be fine?” he asks, tone laced with worry and disbelief, “You fainted in the square after your fight with Frey. You were fatigued, hot, and it’s summer; it’s dry.”

“Like I said..” Lest stands up easily, not swaying as he had been before, “I’m fine.” He looks around the office, ignoring the exasperated, surprised looks that Arthur keeps giving him, and grins up at the blond, “My reward.”

“Reward?” Arthur echoes, soft tone indicating surprise. He pushes his glasses up a bit, and is about to take a step back when Lest gently grabs his wrist, prohibiting his movement.

“I want you to kiss me,” Lest informs the prince, free hand rising to Arthur’s chest and resting on it. The smile on his lips is playful, innocent; he does not seem to understand that there is something wrong with what he is asking.

Gently biting his own bottom lip, Arthur tries to think of various ways to convince the youth that there are better rewards, that perhaps something tangible would be a far greater gift.

Realisation is key here. And poor, innocent Lest is missing every flag.

“Listen..” the prince starts slowly using a soft, gentle tone that earns him a curious look, “I know I promised I’d give you whatever you wanted. But.. a kiss? Isn’t that.. a bit of an _odd_ choice?”

Blinking in obvious confusion, Lest asks, “But you’re my best friend, so isn’t it okay?”

“Behind Doug and Dylas?”

“In front of, actually,” he answers, smiling just a bit. He considers Arthur his closest friend.

“But you wouldn’t ask them to kiss you, would you?”

“No, because..” As Lest thinks about it, his light violet orbs fill with confusion and they narrow in slight frustration, “Because.. I just wouldn’t. But I’m asking you.” Now, he looks flustered, upset, and his cheeks are dusted a light shade of pink.

 _He doesn’t understand_.. Arthur realises, gazing down at the youth, worried pink fixing to violet, _He’s four years younger than I am. Of course he doesn’t understand his own feelings.._

“Lest..-”

“Please?” Lest innocently tilts his head, violet glossing over, tone pleading.

Arthur’s heart flutters more than a bit when the youth looks up at him like that, and his pale cheeks turn a delicate shade of pink. “Just once, right?”

Lest nods.

The prince nods very slowly in return, and leans in slowly, stopping mere centimetres from Lest’s lips as he tries to fathom his own reasoning. He swallows and lightly kisses Lest right on his lips, pulling away rather quickly, looking away from him.

Shifting his gaze from Arthur to the door and back, the younger blond’s cheeks darken with a warm blush as a smile plays on his lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Arthur,” he murmurs, gently pulling away from the prince and giving him a happy, clumsy grin.

The statement earns him a nod.

Arthur watches as the young, acting prince of Selphia exits his office, and his own cheeks darken once he realises just what he had done. He raises a hand to his face, gently pressing it to his hot cheek, and then his warm lips.

“I _kissed_ him..”

* * *

_Summer 13 - Morning_

“Good morning, prince!”

Lest sits up groggily, hands rising to rub the sleep out of his light violet eyes. He looks up when he is done to meet deep purple orbs belonging to a young looking man with pale azure hair. “Good morning, Vishnal..” the blond murmurs tiredly, gently pushing away his thin, purple sheets and swinging his legs over the side of the bed so that his warm toes rest on cool tile.

Vishnal, seemingly the young man’s name, smiles a bit at the blond, “It’s nearly eleven, prince. Lady Ventuswill advised I wake you up before you slept the afternoon away. Are you feeling alright?” He gently presses a gloved hand to the youth’s forehead, and blinks a bit when he can feel neither heat nor coolness emanating from Lest’s skin.

“If you want to check my temperature, you need to remove your glove, Vishnal,” Lest laughs quietly to himself, amused with the azure haired male’s airheadedness. He tilts his head just a bit, seemingly remembering something, “Or you could press your lips to my..-”

“Excuse me?”

The two look up to find Arthur gazing at them with a slightly bothered look on his face, honey pink eyes narrowed and cheeks sprayed with a light red shade.

Visibly lighting up, Lest’s violet orbs fill with something akin to joy.. affection, perhaps? “Arthur!” he calls, gently patting the free space on the bed next to him. He turns his gaze to the butler who is still standing in front of him, and smiles gently, “It’s okay, Vishnal. You can return to your job.”

Vishnal returns the smile with a warm one of his own, and nods. “I’ll see you around, prince,” He walks over to Lest’s door and nods politely to Arthur, giving him an innocent smile, “Good day!” He closes the door behind himself.

The bespectacled male walks over slowly, and leans down when he is in front of the youth, just enough to see eye-to-eye with the other. He rests his hands on his legs, fingers gently gripping at the soft, khaki coloured material of his pants.

Lest stares right back at him, an innocent look on his soft features as he tilts his head and asks, “Are you going to check my temperature?” The question is quiet, naïve, curious, “You can press your lips to my forehead.”

“I am,” Arthur says, leaning in just a bit more. He gently presses his warm hand to the younger blond’s forehead, and watches as his expression shifts to that of obvious disappointment, violet narrowing.

 _You don’t have to make it so obvious_.. Arthur thinks, trying not to show his own distress.

Lest slowly pulls away from the prince, clear frustration on his features as he slides off of his bed, feet meeting the tile with a soft pat! He undoes the buttons on his purple night shirt, and starts dressing himself into his everyday clothing, still looking thoroughly upset with the older blond for not going along with what he thought to be an innocent suggestion.

Arthur only shifts his gaze away, pink narrowing just a bit as he tries to keep his eyes off of the youth.

_He still doesn’t understand why he’s upset.._

* * *

_Summer 13 - Afternoon_

“Tomorrow..?”

Arthur nods, gazing at the younger blond, “Do you have plans for tomorrow?” He gently straightens the papers in his hands, and places them in a small stack of other similar papers, all decorated with a red, intricate dragon insignia. Sitting down in the soft, cushioned chair that rests behind his desk, he stares at Lest, waiting for his answer.

No response.

“Lest..?” he calls softly, blinking in slight surprise when the youth’s head snaps up, as if he’s been awakened from a daydream.

“What?” Lest asks, tone indicating he had indeed been off in his own world.

Arthur decides to push his original question to the curb and asks a new one, “What’re you thinking about? You seem.. far away.” His voice is soft, gentle. His pink orbs narrow in worry as they fix to bittersweet light violet, and he earns a sad smile.

“Do you like me?”

Blunt. Innocent.

And so full of pain.

Clearing his throat nervously, the older blond turns his face away from the youth and gazes pointedly at the turnip statue at the other end of the room. “I.. I’m very fond of you..” he murmurs, voice just above a whisper. “Can we.. can we talk about this tomorrow, perhaps?”

Lest smiles bittersweetly, and nods only once at the older blond, “Ten, at night.” Getting up from the velvet sofa, the youth slowly walks over to the prince and leans in just slightly..

.. only to pull away when they are mere inches apart. “.. I’ll see you tomorrow, Arthur..” he murmurs, giving him a weak, shaky smile as he leaves the room.

The heat emitting from Arthur’s face contradicts the cold, empty feeling in his heart as he watches Lest leave, and he finds himself wishing he knew just what Lest thinks about.

* * *

_Summer 14 - Nighttime_

Breathing warm air into his cold, pink hands, Arthur turns his gaze up to the dark blue sky, trying to understand the sudden change in hot, summer weather to freezing, winter.

Just until a few moments ago, it had been a humid, warm, normal summer night. The sky had been filled with beautiful, shimmering fireflies that lit up the night sky. But now, it is snowing tiny, crystalline pieces that break into dozens of shiny crystal upon meeting the ground, making the whole town light up with white crystal. The fireflies have long fled the square; it is far too cold for them to stay.

And it is freezing.

The only people in the square are Arthur and a few tourists.

“Hey, these are runes, right?”

“I think so. They look like the blue runeys in Trampoli..”

“Why is is snowing runes? And they’re so cold..”

The tourists are on the far end of the square, and Arthur cannot hear them.

Smiling lightly to himself, Arthur knows that a huge weight on his heart has lifted; he knows that he can go on determined now.

He had decided, last night, that he was going to tell Lest how he felt about him. Having given it a lot of thought while he dozed in bed, he came to a simple, clean solution.

He loves Lest.

He loves being around him, he loves his smile, his laugh.. he loves the way the young blond works to make sure he has greeted each person in town, the way Lest takes care of all those monsters in the barn by himself every single day.

His smile widens a bit as he starts to think about how he would tell Lest. He could simply say it.. or he could describe the elated feeling in detail before finally confessing to him. Or, he could start with an apology, given last night’s..-

A light, hesitant tap on his shoulder brings him back to reality, and he swallows lightly, turning slowly, “Lest, I..”

He drops his sentence upon seeing who it is.

“Doug?” Arthur asks, voice laced with disappointment and a mixture of confusion, “Good evening. What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying..” His expression turns worried, features softening, pink orbs narrowing with concern.

Looking away from the blond, silver eyes narrow in what appears to be guilt and the redheaded dwarf bites down on his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. He holds out something wrapped in cheap cloth: something long and thin. He cannot look Arthur in the eye.

Arthur takes it gently, hands carefully holding either end, and he almost ends up dropping it with its surprisingly heavy weight. “What it this?” he asks, earning a slow shake of the head from the dwarf. Frowning, he can only unwrap it himself.

His heart stops.

“Doug, what is this..?” he whispers, completely unwrapping the damaged long sword he has seen on countless occasions before. The blade is nearly drenched in blood, dulling what would be shiny blue-silver, and it is cracked and even shattered in some places, while the hilt is completely damaged. “Why.. why do you have Lest’s Snow Crown?”

Lifting his head slowly, Doug’s tear-filled silver eyes meet Arthur’s wide honey pink. And then he smiles brokenly, tears slipping from his eyes, “Lest’s gone.” His smile falters and slips from his lips, eyes narrowing as salty tears run down his cheeks and sting his lips, “He’s.. he’s gone..” He shakes his head, sobbing softly, “Lest’s.. he’s..”

Shock engulfs the prince.

_Clang!_

The damaged Snow Crown had slipped from Arthur’s hands, and had clattered to the ground with a loud, resounding noise.

“I-.. I’m sorry..!” Doug whispers, broken expression turning completely guilty now as tears meet the stone pavement. He shakes his head again, silver orbs narrowing as he chokes out another apology before he runs past the blond prince, metallic boots softly clicking against the stone.

It takes Arthur more than a few moments to finally react, the seconds ticking away as the crystalline shards illuminate the dark, night sky.

He breaks.

Shaking hands over his mouth, the prince’s honey pink orbs fill with tears that sting his eyes and blur his vision; sobs trap themselves in his slender throat, unable to escape nor be swallowed down; his frame starts to tremble as small pieces of his heart begin to shatter.

 _It.. it isn’t fair,_ he thinks.

 _This isn’t fair. This isn’t_ right _._

Lest.. had chosen today to go to Leon Karnak and rescue the Guardian there. They had spent weeks preparing him and Frey; they had gotten lessons from Forte, they had been training with their monsters.. That fight yesterday between Frey and Lest had been to increase their stamina, and to test their current skill.

Logically, Lest should have.. he should have been fine. His skill level is much higher than Frey’s is, despite his younger age. He.. but he..

But..

.. Lest did not make it.

Arthur’s heart completely shatters.

_“Weren’t we supposed to say, ‘I love you’ today..?”_


End file.
